Miami, Florida St. have title dreams riding on game

The stakes are simple when No. 2 Miami visits No. 14 Florida State -- the loser is all but out of the national championship race.

One of four matchups of Top 25 teams today, the Hurricanes-Seminoles rivalry stands out because each team has so much riding on the outcome.

Florida State (3-1) played in the last three national title games -- winning in '99 -- has an NCAA-record 14 straight 10-win seasons and owns a 54-game unbeaten streak at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Miami (4-0) ended a five-year losing streak to the Seminoles last year, but Florida State still got to play Oklahoma for the national title in the Orange Bowl. Also, the Hurricanes were the last team to win in Tallahassee, 17-16 in 1991.

"It certainly will be our biggest test so far," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "The crowd will be at a fevered pitch and it's a very tough place to play. We've got to do a great job, much as we did at Penn State, in trying to take the crowd out of the game."

Conference showdowns

Conference title races will take shape in three leagues: No. 10 Washington (4-0, 2-0) plays at No. 7 UCLA (4-0, 1-0) in the Pac-10; No. 17 Purdue (4-0, 2-0) visits No. 12 Michigan (4-1, 2-0) in the Big Ten; and No. 25 Texas A&M (5-0, 2-0) travels to No. 20 Colorado (4-1, 2-0) in the Big 12.

The Huskies and Bruins hook up in the Rose Bowl, site of this year's national title game on Jan. 3. The winner moves a step closer to the Pac-10 crown and remains in contention for a return to Pasadena.

The Boilermakers and Wolverines, along with Ohio State, are atop the Big Ten standings. Michigan is out to avenge last year's one-point loss to Purdue on Travis Dorsch's 33-yard field goal with 4 seconds left.

At Boulder, the revived Buffaloes take on the Aggies, with the winner keeping pace in their respective divisions. Colorado is tied for first with Nebraska in the Big 12 North; Texas A&M and Oklahoma are atop the Big 12 South.

Top 25 games

In other Top 25 games, it's No. 1 Florida at Auburn, No. 3 Oklahoma at Kansas, No. 4 Nebraska at Baylor, No. 5 Oregon at California, Boston College at No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 8 Fresno State at Colorado State, No. 9 South Carolina at Arkansas, No. 11 Texas at Oklahoma State, No. 16 Clemson at North Carolina State, No. 18 BYU at New Mexico, No. 19 Georgia at Vanderbilt, Wisconsin at No. 21 Ohio State, Washington State at No. 23 Stanford and No. 24 Kansas State at Texas Tech.

No. 22 Maryland played No. 15 Georgia Tech on Thursday night.

Florida State, which lost 41-9 at North Carolina on Sept. 22, is facing early title elimination for the first time in years under coach Bobby Bowden. The last time the Seminoles lost two regular-season games was 1995.

"They're as good as anybody in the country," Bowden said of the Hurricanes, listed as 7-point favorites. "We're about to find out what we're made of."

The Hurricanes won 27-24 last year thanks to Wide Right III, a missed 49-yard field goal attempt on the final play by Matt Munyon. Ken Dorsey had given Miami the lead with a 13-yard TD pass to Jeremy Shockey with 46 seconds left.

Hurricane force

This year, Miami has the stars, led by Heisman Trophy contender Dorsey, running back Clinton Portis and offensive tackles Bryant McKinnie and Joaquin Gonzalez.

Florida State, without its usual star-studded lineup, counters with freshman quarterback Chris Rix and a defense determined to harass Dorsey, who threw for 328 yards and was not sacked in last year's game.

"You don't like to see a quarterback with white pants," defensive tackle Travis Johnson said. "You want to see grass on their back all day long."

The first two wide rights in the series were in 1991 and '92, with the Hurricanes winning both times on late field-goal misses by the Seminoles.

Washington may go against UCLA with a new starting quarterback, Taylor Barton. Cody Pickett separated his right shoulder in last week's 27-24 win against USC, but Barton came on and threw two TD passes. Pickett is doubtful, coach Rick Neuheisel said.

The Bruins, under new defensive coordinator Phil Snow, are sixth in the nation in scoring defense at 11.8 points per game. "They're playing really well and they're playing inspired," Neuheisel said.

A pair of Big Ten quarterbacks who replaced guys named Drew will be featured when Purdue's Brandon Hance goes against Michigan's John Navarre. Hance, with 822 yards and five TDs, stepped in for Drew Brees. Navarre replaced Drew Henson and has thrown for 1,126 yards and eight TDs.